Walls in France: Cimetières

The cemetery in Eygalieres is just on the outskirts of town. Since we first visited here in 2005, I’ve wanted to take the time to photograph the tombs and headstones. Growing up as the son of a florist, I spent a good deal of my time in the cemeteries in Beaufort, SC, and came to enjoy and appreciate my time there. I especially liked reading the old headstones and wondering about the lives of the people who lived in my town so long ago. So yesterday I decided to take the morning and stroll through Eygalires’s monuments to its past citizens.

What a difference from the US version. This cemetery is much more personal, often delivering a vivid picture of the deceased and what he or she meant to those left behind. I saw pictures galore, religious icons and small artifacts from family and friends to commemorate their loss.

I saw the grave of two sons who had died defending France in WWI, pictured young and strong in their uniforms. They died a year apart almost to the day, Next to them, photographs of their parents, also buried there; old and beaten down from their loss. I saw a picture of a mother, kneeling down at her child’s grave. Pictures of mothers, fathers, children and babies.

But it was not all sad. Several bullfighters are buried there. My favorite is pictured jumping and just missing the long horn of the Camargue bull as he taunted him in the ring, with figurines of horses and bulls adorning their grave. There was even one with pictures of his favorite pick-up truck.

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them. Live long and prosper!